Netflix says it will restrict password sharing

Do you use a borrowed password to watch Netflix? You will soon have to pony up and pay.

Netflix said it will crack down on the widespread practice of password sharing at the end of June. Password sharers won’t have to get their own account but will be required to sign up for a “paid sharing plan” with fees yet to be determined. The company estimates that as many as 100 million subscribers around the world share Netflix passwords.

The move is a stark reversal from Netflix’s past stance on password sharing, which the company embraced during the years it was growing at a phenomenal rate, even tweeting in 2017 that “Love is sharing a password.”

Google: Beware fake YouTube email

Google is warning of an especially genuine-looking phishing email that purports to come from the tech giant’s YouTube service. What makes the email so dangerous is that it appears to come from a legitimate no-reply@youtube.com address with subjects "YouTube policy change" or “The YouTube team sent you a video.” Google says clicking on the attached link could result in your computer being hacked.

Smartphone market dips again

The appetite to buy a new smartphone is diminishing. Research firm Canalys says worldwide smartphone sales fell 12% in the first quarter compared with the same period in 2022, the fifth straight quarter of declining sales. While Apple’s iPhone is No. 1 in the United States by far, Samsung regained the top spot globally with a 22% market share followed by Apple (21%) and Xiaomi (11%).

Apple prevails in Fortnite suit

A federal appeals court dealt a blow to claims that Apple wields a monopoly in its App Store. The court upheld a decision that Epic Games, maker of the popular Fortnite game, failed to prove Apple's App Store policies constituted anticompetitive conduct in violation of federal antitrust laws. The decision could have implications for legal challenges against the concentration of power in the tech industry. — THE WASHINGTON POST